Various types of sensing systems may use new and/or replacement sensors from time to time. For example, pressure sensing systems for monitoring the pressure within the tires of a vehicle generate a pressure signal using an electromagnetic signal, which is transmitted to a receiver. The pressure signal may be correlated to the pressure within a tire. When the tire pressure monitoring system detects a low pressure situation, the vehicle operator is directed to remedy the problem. Such problems are remedied by replacing the low tire with a spare tire, or filling the low tire to increase the pressure therein.
On occasion, new sensors may be installed in a sensor system, e.g., in a tire pressure monitoring system in a vehicle. The sensors generally need to be associated to a receiver in the vehicle so that the receiver can monitor the correct sensors. In the event the new sensor is not properly associated, the receiver will not recognize the sensor and will generally flag a fault, typically including providing an indicator to the vehicle operator. The fault signal results in customer dissatisfaction and warranty in the field to recognize and repair the problem.
Auto learn functions have been applied to associate the various tire pressure sensor monitors with the locations of the tires in the vehicle. However, many approaches have been known to incorrectly associate a sensor on a vehicle, and may even introduce the potential of incorrectly associating a sensor from a nearby vehicle. Further, existing auto learn systems suffer from the drawback of requiring unduly long periods of time to identify a sensor.